Bert Smith - St Andrew - Coniston, Cumbria - Citizen Memorials on Waymarking.com

A small plaque in St Andrew's church, Coniston, celebrating local man Bert Smith, a violin maker greatly admired by Yehudi Menuhin.

The simple plaque of local slate reads -
IN MEMORY OF
BERT SMITH
VIOLIN MAKER
BORN 16th FEBRUARY 1910
DIED 19th JULY 1973

Above is a photo of Bert in his workshop.

"Bert Smith was the quarry engineer on Coniston Old Man from 1938 until the 1960’s. He was responsible for keeping all the Company’s equipment in the Coppermines, the Smithy and on the mountain in good working order. He eventually left the quarries to follow his other passion of making violins. His skills became internationally acclaimed and his instruments were of the highest quality and in great demand. Bert died in 1973."

SOURCE - (visit link)

He once made a violin for Yehudi Menuhin and the two men appeared together in a BBC documentary in the 60s (visit link) . There is a case devoted to his work at the Ruskin Museum in Coniston.

Location: St Andrew's church Website with more information on either the memorial or the person(s) it is dedicated to: Not listed

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